The present invention relates to a packaging and a process for packaging for the transportation out of water of living fish of the order pleuronectidae.
Numerous species of fish are at present transported alive and without water throughout the world. This is the case for example of sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) and carp (Cyprinus carpio) which have a natural capacity to survive a very long time (two to three days) out of water. Similarly, lobsters, because of their natural capacity to survive out of water, can be sent from the Canadian shores to Japan in simple polystyrene boxes containing only ice.
As is described in the document FR-A-2.215.894, there are moreover known packages adapted for the transportation and preservation of small animals such as shrimp, in which there is used a reduced quantity of water. In this case, the packaging is present in the form of a perforated plate, disposed within a package with a sealed bottom, the perforations of the plate permitting water below the animals to escape so that only a small film of water remains about the aquatic animals. The transportation therefore takes place under conditions in which a thin film of water is maintained about and above the animals disposed in the form of a layer. The present of water generates a certain number of problems in the case of aerial transport. Moreover, such a solution is difficult to practice by reason of the absence of control of the characteristics of the water film.
Other solutions consist in providing a box generally of plastic within which a fish is disposed. This box formed from a body and a cover, is provided with openings for the passage of water. The assembly is then placed in a container filled with water. The box permits protecting the fish during its transportation. Such a solution is particularly described in the document JP 3-254619.
For example, it has been demonstrated that a suitable preparation of these living fishes before transport can improve considerably their lifetime out of water. Thus, it has been demonstrated that sturgeons could be maintained alive out of water for several weeks if their temperature is brought below 0xc2x0 C. This well-known phenomenon is called the anabiose phenomenon.
Because of this, special refrigeration machines dealing with this anabiose phenomenon have been developed. These machines are installed directly within aircraft. The problem with such installations is their cost, their size and their maintenance.
Until now, no packaging has been proposed for the transportation of species of fish naturally less resistant to survival out of water, as is the case for flat fish also called pleuronectidae.
The object of the present invention is thus to provide a packaging for the transportation out of water of living fish of the order pleuronectidae, of simple design, low cost and ease of preparation and loading into an aircraft while limiting to the maximum the handling of the fish.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging for the transportation out of water of fish of the order pleuronectidae which permits obtaining a 100% survival rate of said fish after at least 24 hours out of water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for the packaging of living fish of the order pleuronectidae including a series of steps that are simple to practice and that involve few manipulations by direct contact with the fish.
To this end, the invention has for its object a packaging for the transportation out of water of living fish of the order pleuronectidae, characterized in that it is constituted by at least one upwardly open box whose bottom is provided with an active surface for the flat reception of the fish to be packaged, this active support surface for the fish being constituted by solid parts and ventilated openings, the ratio (surface of solid/surface of openings) of said active support surface being comprised within the range 0.1-9 to permit effective cutaneous respiration of the supported surface of the fish. Thanks to this design of the packaging, the transported fish have no cutaneous marking after their transportation, and have a survival rate of almost 100% including after a transportation time greater than 24 hours.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the volume of the box expressed in liters divided by six times the total weight expressed in kg of the fish to be packaged, is comprised between 0.4 and 2.5. Moreover, the active support surface for the fish can be constituted by the top of lugs that project from the surface forming the bottom of the box in an upward direction, the openings corresponding to the spaces left free between said lugs.
The invention also has for its object a process for packaging living fish of the order of pleuronectidae for their transportation out of water by means of a packaging of the above type, characterized in that there is placed flat on the bottom of a box loaded with ice, at least one, preferably two, generally fasted fish, in that there is placed on the bottom of a container carried by a pallet a flexible envelope impervious to water, in that there is placed within said envelope one or a plurality of boxes in the form of one or several piles, in that before or after sealed closing of said envelope, there is introduced into said envelope oxygen and in that the container disposed about said envelope is closed.
Such a process reduces greatly the handling by direct contact with the fish to be packaged, this handling always leading to disturbances or even wounding of the fish.